5 Easy Ways to Teach Glued Sounds with nk & NG Ending With Free Lesson.

Have you wondered how to teach glued sounds with ng and nk endings? Wonder why these sounds can be difficult for students to read and write? Vowel sounds next to nasal sounds change the vowel sound and they become easier to say as a unit or glued sound. This effect changes the vowel sounds around nasal sounds such as /n/ or /m/. Glued or Welded sounds -nk & -ng are written with 3 letters but have one sound, such as ang, ing, ong, ung, ank, ink, onk, and unk. These sounds can be tricky for some students to understand so I have created stories and activities to help practice reading and spelling with these welded sounds.

Why We Teach Glued sounds with ng and nk

Before getting into the activities for reinforcing glued sounds in reading and spelling instruction with Orton Gillingham (OG), it is important to understand why we teach them this way. The primary reason is that when combining sounds through the process of assimilation, vowel sounds can subtly shift to create harmonious and familiar associations with nasals such as /ng/ and /nk/.

It is easier for students to say and remember glued or welded sounds than to separate the vowel with <nk> and <ng>. I have also taught this skill be separating the vowel from the <nk> or <ng> But I have found that by teaching these combined sounds together rather than the individual letters that make up each word helps students retain and use them more easily in their reading and spelling.

When to teach Glued Sounds with nG and nK endings

To ensure your students have a strong foundation in digraphs, floss words and glued sounds (am/an) before introducing new concepts later on, it is important to practice frequently. You may expect first graders with NG and NK glued sounds around the mid-year mark while second graders should do so during their initial unit. If an individual student faces challenges with one or two of these glued sounds, focus more attention them but also continue progressing through subsequent weeks by having every learner read & write these tricky sound combinations. With enough repetitions until they reach 80% proficiency rate as whole group.

Activities for Reinforcing Glued sounds with NG and NK

Read Glued Sounds with ng & nk Wordlists

Wordlists can be very handy for quick practice with these glued sounds. I like to have students highlight the vowels and then practice reading the nk and ng word families down the columns and then across the rows. Then we will do dictation and orthographically map <nk> and <ng> glued sounds.

Use Key words to help Remember Glued Sounds with ng and nk

I like to introduce visual cues for the Glued sounds with ng and nk by creating sound cards for each group (e.g., -ang cards and -ung cards). When introducing each group of cards I say something like “this glued sound begins with an A” (for -ang) or “this glued sound begins with the vowel U” (for -ung). This helps reinforce the vowel sounds in these glued sounds.

Read Decodable Stories with <NK> and <NG> Glued Sounds

When it comes to teaching glued sounds with OG instruction, there are plenty of activities you can use to reinforce them. One example is using decodable texts containing these words; this allows students to see how they appear in context while also giving them an opportunity to practice their decoding skills. These are full phonics units with lesson plans and will help all readers but students with dyslexia will get extra help with these tricky sounds.

Practice Spelling and Writing with Glued Sounds

Practicing Spelling and Writing is a great way to practice these sounds and help students to orthographically map glued and welded sounds. When students are segmenting the words remine them that the 3 letters are said as one sound to help us.

Play Games with Glued and Welded NK and NG Sounds

Another fun way to learn these sounds is through hands-on activities like word building tiles or roll and read phrases. For example, I often create word sorts that contain all the welded sounds so that students can practice finding them in isolation (i.e., without any context clues). This helps them recognize these words faster when they come across them in text.

Download a Free Complete Lesson for Practice with -nk & -ng